[TheForge] oil/wax finish, blackened steel

[ries]

My buddy James and I did a couple of tables this year that needed blackened- he did the wood, I did the metal- and we found the best way to get consistent results on mixed materials like that was cold, not hot- we sanded all the metal to the same starting point- I used a random orbit sander, with about an 80 grit paper. Then, we used Blackwood Casey cold black, rubbed on with a rag, then rub off the excess. Pretty quickly he clearcoated it, with some fancy imported clearcoat he uses on cabinets. You get a nice consistent finish. 
I find hot blacking with a torch ok for small stuff, but a big pain for larger items.
Most all commercial blacking is done in baths, which are hot, but not that hot- 100 degrees or so.

We have also used commercial gun blueing/blacking liquids from Kesselrings, but they are a lot pricier than buying from Blackwood Casey- a gallon has lasted me about 20 years now of occasional use.

ries



On Oct 22, 2010, at 10:53 PM, Robert J Hill wrote:

Andy,
Are you using any of the bluing/blackening chemicals first?  The mill  
scale on the tube can be resistant to the hot wax method.  Maybe a  
light sanding with 120 grit then scotch brite to take out the sander  
swirls will help.
Good luck,
Rob

On Oct 22, 2010, at 15:51, Andy Gladish wrote:

Yikes!
I'm working on a railing that needs to be finished this weekend, and  
thought
I knew how to do a blackened finish...looks fine on the forged stuff,  
but
it's a mix of square tube and forged parts and the finish I get from  
heating
the steel til the wax mixture smokes when I apply it, is VERY  
different on
the tubing than it is on the forged parts...
Any suggestions, anyone?
Thanks!
Andy Gladish

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Ries Niemi
Industrial Artist
http://www.riesniemi.com/